Too late
by Seirin
Summary: To her he was the man she fell in love with. To him she was just a friend who was a great cook. But many things can change when you are about to lose someone you took for granted.
1. The blood impulse

Hey^^, at the beginning I want to say that English isn't my mother tongue, so be ready for errors. This fanfic is dedicated to Relm Wanderer ;)

Chapter 1

"The blood impulse"

He went along a very long, completely unfamiliar road. Tiny, black and white stones formed a shape of a white rose. If some connoisseur had gone along this pavement, surely he would have pay attention to the mastery of workmanship of this small work of art. But, the wanderer didn't notice the whiteness, because he caught sight of drops of redness. He came closer and it turned out, that he could see more red points with every single step. He quickly realized that the mentioned redness, which interrupted a beauty of the stony flower, was in fact a blood. He increased his pace when he saw where those traces led to. In the middle of the mosaic he saw her. He came to her completely terrified. He picked up a lifeless body of woman bathed in blood and screamed:

"SYLPHIEL!"

* * *

><p>Gourry panted for breath. His brow beaded with sweat. His hotel room looked really ordinarily in the darkness, but at the very moment it seemed to be a completely alien place. Few minutes passed before he had become aware that it was just a nightmare. Yes, it seemed to be frighteningly true, but still it was just a dream. "Sylphiel must be safe in Sairaag" – he tried to calm himself down. " It was just a dream…" –he started to mumble as soon as he once again felt sleepy and even a minute didn't pass before the man began to snore.<p>

* * *

><p>Gourry Gabriev liked three things about himself. One of them was his wonderful weapon, the legendary sword of light, which was an object of jealousy of many people, with a certain redhead being one of them. The second one was a capacity of his stomach. Thanks to it he could eat everything he wanted. Hardly ever did he experience those sad moments when he wanted to eat some delicacies, but he couldn't persuade his stomach to eat anything more. The last but not least was his memory. Only a short-sighted person would call the blond a forgetful man. Oh no! It would be a terrible mistake if somebody would think of the swordsman as a person with a bad memory. As usual in such situations, devil is in the details. Gourry Gabriev had an unique ability to forget about unimportant things. He was a really lucky guy, wasn't he? In times when most people unwillingly kept in their memory every single piece of information (with a lot of rubbish), his mind remained completely uncontaminated with useless information. Sometimes his gift evolved even further. There were several moments in his life when he was able to forget about things not only unimportant but also unpleasant. He could ignore suffering in his life and thanks to isolating himself from bad memories he could maintain a constant level of carefreeness resulting in his charming, innocent smiles for the whole time. So Gourry normally would be able to completely ignore his nightmare in such way, that it wouldn't affect his mood. But that day, after getting up, his gift failed for the first time. Even if it was just a bad dream, he couldn't bring himself to forget the view of lifeless, green eyes.<p>

* * *

><p>Noise and tapping of the cutlery and dishes could be heard everywhere. In the inn nearby the main road, as always about this time, atmosphere was lively and loud. Omniberix was small, but a quickly developing city, which was situated in the middle of the route from Seyrun to Sairaag. That was a place where a happy team of Lina Inverse stopped in pursuit of treasure and adventure.<p>

"Oooooone moooooooore heeeeeeeelpiiiiing pleeeeeaaaaseeeee!" Lina yelled to a poor, shocked waitress, who was bringing never-ending helpings without a single word of a complain. Her comrades weren't surprised by a uncontrollable appetite of a redhead, which was the reason why the girl was even more confused. Amelia Will Tesla Seyrun delighted in a huge, ice cream dessert with a delicious cherry on the top of it. Zelgadis Greywords wordlessly sipped his coffe looking through some old book at the very same time. Whole trio was absorbed in their activities and only appearing of the fourth person cause them to pay attention to something else.

"Gourry, what's wrong? I'm afraid there is nothing left for you in the kitchen." Lina welcomed him smiling nastily. The swordsman didn't react at once. He sit down lost in his thoughts and answered her after a while.

"What? You were talking to me?" He asked. Pupils of the sorceress narrowed dangerously.

"Listen when someone talks to you!" She yelled directly into his ear.

"Hey! What was that for?" He said massaging an aching hearing organ. The master of the black magic couldn't answer him because of arrival o the waitress. The blond quickly turned to the young girl with his charming smile no longer paying attention to Lina.

"Hi! I would like… " He started to think what should he take looking at the menu card. "I would like this, this, this, twice this and this, this, oh and this! " The waitress felt a little weak after hearing the very same terrifying set.

"Yes, sir."

"I would like once more Justice Sweet de la Ice Cream! It's really delicious! Oh, I can feel the power of sweet justice in my veins!" As always overenthusiastic Amelia announced.

"Wow! A dessert? I would like one bowl of this, this and this." Lina said pointing few positions from the menu card.

"One more coffee." Zelgadis said not even taking his eyes from his book.

"Yes, sir." The waitress repeated being on the verge of breakdown. The red-haired sorceress looked around, but she didn't find anything to eat in order to make waiting for the dessert pleasant. But then she noticed an absent look of Gourry. It was truth that the blond had a tendency to zone out at many important moments, but it never happened during a meal.

"Gourry… " She began, but she couldn't finish, because she was interrupted by Zelgadis.

"Lina, the Rethkiothy cave is situated exactly one day of march from Sairaag. If we hurried, we would be able to get there in three days. " When the word "Sairaag" was mentioned the blond brightened up. It wasn't unnoticed by the master of black magic.

"It's great! We can go as soon as we finish our dessert!" Lina announced merrily still observing the swordsman. The princess agreed happily.

"If it isn't so far away from Sairaag, so maybe we can visit Sylphiel?" Gourry asked.

"We don't have ti… " Zelgadis answered, but this time it was Lina, who cut him off.

"It's a great idea. We haven't seen her for a long time."

"Miss Lina, you just want to eat Miss Sylphiel out of house and home, don't you? " Amelia said distrustfully.

"[BANG]" The princess was hit in her head. "Zel, there is nothing wrong with one day off. Besides, there is a reconstructed library in Sairaag, so we can find there something useful." She turned to the chimera trying to withdraw his objection in advance. The master of shamanism at first wasn't delighted, but the second argument was quite rational.

"Maybe it isn't such a bad idea, after all…"

"So it's decided! We are going to Sylpiel for a dinner!" Lina yelled rising her hand in V shape.

"I knew it. You want to eat Miss Sylphiel out of house and home, after all. " Amelia mumbled.

"FIRE BALL!"

* * *

><p>Blood flew profusely after a hit directed towards heart of terrified blond girl. A horrifying scream escaped her mouth, after which it became very silent. Eyes, having been hiding not so long ago a light of life, blurred. They, like mirrors, reflected a man with a cold, calculated look demonstrating his inhuman cruelty. The murderer lifted a short sword set with expensive jewels from the ground. Red drops of blood flew down the small blade. The man brought the dagger close to his mouth and he slowly licked the edge. He bent over young, dead woman, after which he touched her head and he combed her hair.<p>

"Naylith, don't be mad, my dear. You know very well, I had to do it." He said quietly in a low, cold voice. "Don't worry, you won't be alone. A blood of the healer from Sairaag'll join you very soon." He stroked hair of the dead woman once again. "And with her, my collection'll be completed…"


	2. The beginning of the inevitable

Chapter 2

The beginning of the inevitable

Destruction could be seen absolutely everywhere. No building was saved from even the tiniest scratch. There were countless houses missing a roof. Dozens of wounded people leaned against walls. Among the victims was a little girl who squealed in pain when priestess bending over her tried to heal her wound. Finding even one painless and happy face among that crowd was almost impossible.

That's how looked like new Sairaag.

Lina couldn't believe the view, she saw after entering the town, was true. She expected to see the city being restored to its previous glory, but now she had to look at some kind of battlefield. She walked along a damaged road. The injured were lying everywhere. She heard Amelia covering her mouth in horror. Gourry and Zelgadis followed her in silence. The sorceress was certain that everyone asked himself/herself one question: how did this happen?

The history of this city was too cruel. At first, its population was decimated by Zanaffar. Few years ago it was a place where a deadly explosion, caused by a copy of Rezo, took place. In comparison to previous disasters, condition of the present Sairaag wasn't so bad, but it didn't change the fact that people, reconstructing this place with great difficulty, were put in an unpleasant situation. You could have thought that some mischievous force wanted to punish Sairaag for its erstwhile fame.

The master of black magic led her group towards the center of the city. She suspected that there should be people like Sylphiel who would take on the responsibility for organizing help in the current situation. Soon it turned out she was right. Once they reached a big square, she was sure she would find answers for her questions. A relatively high middle-aged man with long white hair stood nearby helping some priestess. Lina came to him and said quietly:

" Excuse me, can you tell us what has happened here?"

The man immediately turned around and looked at her with sadness in his brown eyes.

"Who are you?'" He asked a little suspiciously.

"We are friends of Sylphiel Nels Rada." The sorceress replied shortly thinking that any longer explanation would be unnecessary.

"Friends of Miss Sylphiel?"At first his eyes widened with surprise, but a moment later Lina saw within them even more grief. The man took a deep breath. "As you can see, a few hours ago we were attacked by a powerful, organized group of mages."

"It was done by people?" Asked frightened Amelia. She expected that the culprit of this attack was some kind of wild beast, Mazoku perhaps, but not the man.

"It's hard to call those monsters people, but yes, it was. " Their interlocutor admitted for the first time showing an anger in his voice.

"Where is Sylphiel?" Asked Gourry, who had been so far silent. His gaze was fixed on the brown-eyed man who after a while looked away.

"After all, Sylphiel is the best in creation of protective barriers, so what has happened?" Lina inquired.

"Besides, there are many other priestesses. Their combined barrier should be enough to protect Sairaag." said Zelgadis.

" If we had known about this attack earlier, it would probably have happened. Miss Sylphiel was our high priestess ..."

"What do you mean by saying 'was'?" Asked Gourry. His voice was calm, but something in his tone made Lina look at her friend with surprise.

"Calm down and let me finish" The man asked. The group didn't turned down his request despite the fact, they knew they wouldn't hear positive news. "Miss Sylphiel, our high priestess, this morning, as she does each week, went to a nearby forest to collect some herbs. Then the first wave of the attack occurred. Our priestesses are still inexperienced. They didn't know what to do. And then Miss Sylphiel returned. It was strange, because as soon as one of the attackers saw her, he immediately called off all his men, and it seemed that they left the city. Miss Sylphiel knew it wasn't over. I think she felt some negative energy accumulating over the town. She told everyone, including other priestesses, to hide and she began to create a protective barrier. It was such a powerful barrier ... As soon as she finished ... a massive stream of a dark energy shot from the sky. The barrier of Miss Sylphiel crashed with this terrible outburst. For a moment I thought that everything would be fine. But then Miss Sylphiel screamed in pain. She gave up all her energy to protect us and then the barrier broke." The man stopped for a moment the story in order to take a breath. "It was then when another shock wave struck Sairaag. It was then when happened this what you can see now. And Miss Sylphiel fell limply to the ground.'

"So where is she now? Someone has healed her, right?" The princess asked naively.

"One of the men suddenly appeared before Miss Sylphiel, after which he picked her up and took her away.' The man said the last sentence so fast, as if it could have reduced the effect of his words on the audience.

Of course, he completely failed. Lina paled. Amelia, once again, covered her mouth. Zelgadis slightly raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The least expected reaction was reaction of Gourry.

"They took Sylphiel?" Asked Gourry in tone, which his friends hade never heard. "They took her and you have just stared and done nothing!" Shouted a blond-haired man who made a sudden aggressive movement toward the older man. Lina and Zelgadis reacted at the very same time. They grabbed his both arms in order to make him stop. Amelia only managed to look at swordsman with a horrified gaze. She had never seen in his bright blue eyes such a fury.

"Gourry! Calm down!" Zelgadis shouted.

"It's not their fault! There was nothing they could do for Sylphiel in this situation!" The sorceress yelled. After hearing these words Gourry came to a halt. When the redhead and the mage were sure that the blond-haired man wasn't going to hit the pale older man, they let him go. Blue-eyed man stood for a moment in silence and then without saying a word he turned on his heel and walked away.

"Gourry!" Lina called after him to stop him. She was about to go after him when she felt some hand on her shoulder. She saw Zelgadis shaking his head. After looking in sapphire irises the sorceress sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry for his behavior." she told the citizen of Sairaag. '"This is a shock to all of us."

"I understand. After all, you have every right to accuse us. It's our fault your friend was hurt."

"But we aren't thinking anything like that!" Amelia evidently wanted to make him feel better.

"Thank you, Miss." he smiled at the princess. "But it's our fault. If we had strengthened our defense..."

"Blaming yourself won't help Sylphiel." Said Zelgadis. "Can't you tell us anything else about this group that attacked Sairaag?"

" I'm sorry. I_know nothing_savewhatI_have told you_, but try asking priestesses. Maybe they know something I don't. And as for now I have to leave you. I have to take care of the wounded.'

"I can help with the wounded.' Said Amelia before looking at Lina. "Is that all right, Miss Lina? Taking this opportunity I'll ask other priestesses about the attackers."

"Sure." The redhead responded immediately. "I and Zel will look for other traces."

"We will be grateful for any help. By the way, my name is Halkorm." The older man smiled again to the princess.

"I'm Amelia." She replied cheerfully. After this exchange of courtesies the young girl and the white-haired man left, leaving Lina and Zelgadis alone. The sorceress was silent for a moment. Suddenly, without a word, she went in direction in which, as chimera noticed, Gourry went few minutes earlier.

"Where are you going?" The master of shamanism asked, despite the fact he had already known an answer.

"I have to find Gourry." The sorceress explained.

"Why?' Those words made Lina turn around and look at him in a little irritable way.

"Oh don't ask me stupid questions! Have you ever seen Gourry in such condition?! '- she yelled at him, but Zelgadis was still strangely calm.

"I haven't." He replied coolly.

"So that's why I want to find him."

"So that's why you should leave him at that moment alone." Those words knocked Lina for a loop. She looked sternly in his eyes for a moment, trying to make him explain.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Such an aggression, coming from such a peaceful person as Gourry, has to wreak before he will be able to talk with anyone."

"And how do you know it?" Lina asked doubtfully.

"From experience." He replied curtly. The Redhead eyeballed him not really understanding chimera's trail of thought. "Believe me, the only thing Gourry needs now is a large number of trees."

* * *

><p>A diagonal chop. A sound of a falling tree. Time to breath. A swipe. A diagonal chop. Sound of a falling tree. Time to breath.<p>

Why did he feel such a fury? Why did he want to hit this man as if he was actually guilty? He saw condition in which Sairaag was. He knew that what Lina said was true. Nobody would be able to help her. He thoroughly inspected the entire area. He could see a forest close to which was located an enormous crater – an effect of that explosion. It was a proof of great power of this spell or anything that had been used there. Nevertheless, he believed that Sylphiel survived. The dark-haired girl was a powerful healer and a blue-eyed man was sure that after the collapse of the barrier woman had just lost consciousness from exhaustion. The question was, what did the attackers want to do with her? Why would anyone want to hurt such a gentle creature?

Gourry brought another tree down with a single chop. That tree grew in a place where he lost a trace. He wanted to believe that they would find healer safe and sound. But he couldn't get rid of the relentlessly recurring image of girl lying in a pool of blood.


	3. The five keys

**Chapter 3**

**The five keys  
><strong>

She opened her eyes with great pain. She tried to remember where she was, but painful headache prevented her from analyzing the situation. The only thing she could remember was Sairaag which was under attack. There were also falling barriers and such an unpleasant emptiness. She was so confused! It was as if she was drugged.

"Hello, sweetheart" Cool, filled with false passion voice interrupted her thoughts. She tried to concentrate on the sound hoping it would help her to overcome stupefying effects of the drug. She tried to look at the man's face, but the world was dangerously spinning before her eyes. She could only see some blurred image.

"Who… are… you?" She said, with great difficulty.

The man leaned over her and whispered in her ear in response.

"I have a lot of identities, but primarily I am a collector." His mouth caressed her neck after every word, touching her lower and lower. Sylphiel shivered, this feeling was getting more and more unpleasant as she slowly realized she was completely naked.

" Stop it." She stammered with pleading voice.

" Wrong answer. But don't worry, soon you'll be begging for my touch." He whispered, but the healer heard every word very clearly. His hands began to gently stroke her breasts. "You are really beautiful. You'll be a real gem in my collection. You need just more… time."

"Stop it." She repeated. She wanted to run away, run away from here and from this terrifying man, but her legs were so numb she could hardly move. All she could do was to focus on the very person, who had always encouraged her. "Gourry." She whispered.

" You'll soon forget him." Once again she could hear the same cool voice in her ears, which was this time deprived of false passion. "You'll think only about me." His mouth violently grabbed her lips. She had no strength to fight him. She could only pray that this nightmare would be over as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Sairaag was being quickly rebuilt after the disaster. The leaders of the nearby towns sent to the city a lot of building materials and several disciples of white magic as soon as they learned of the attack. Such an instant reaction was a result of showing the crest of Seyrun by Amelia, who said that her dad surely wouldn't be angry if some part of the royal money was spent on people who really needed help instead of spending it on stomach of certain red-haired sorceress.<p>

A makeshift, temporary canteen was arranged in the least damaged area. There were several rows of long tables and few relatively comfortable, wooden benches. In the end of one of them there were four people lost in a quiet discussion.

"I lost a trail of them in that forest." Gourry pointed trees located half a mile from the small group. He seemed to be much calmer since his return from a short walk, but at the very same time he was really subdued.

"They had to teleport somehow…" Zelgadis noticed.

"So… Some Mazoku was helping them?" Amelia asked.

"Not necessarily." Lina shook her head. "They could have used a modified summoning spell."

"What do you mean?"

"In case of well planned attack of several really powerful mages almost everything is possible. If they had had a partner in a different place and manipulated with some artificial dimension, they could have created something like teleportation. Of course, it wouldn't be possible to teleport for such a long distance like Mazoku or Ryozoku, but it would be enough to delay the pursuit." The sorceress explained. "But that's just a theory. I've no evidence to prove it. "

" Hmm ..." Zelgadis muttered at the same time taking out a map and compasses from his pocket. "Do you think this distance could be about 10 kilometers?" He asked.

"More or less."

"Within a radius of 10 kilometers from Sairaag there are three cities. I doubt they appeared near them. On the other hand, there's a huge forest." He pointed the western area of the map. "I think somewhere in here they might have some hideout."

"So can we start searching?" Gourry asked quickly looking at them with hope in his eyes.

"Gourry, we don't have enough data. This is just a speculation." Lina answered him.

" But we have to do something! We don't know what's happening to Sylphiel right now as we are talking doing nothing!" The blond man slightly raised his voice.

The sorceress Immediately looked at him furiously.

"Do you think that if you just run headlong, you'll find Sylphiel? Calm down and let us think!" The redhead told him off. Swordsman became silent for a moment.

"Sorry. I just ... I have a bad feeling." He admitted quietly. Lina also calmed down and put her hand on his shoulder.

"We are also worried about Sylphiel and I promise you that we will find her." She smiled slightly. Gourry also smiled in response, but said nothing more.

Amelia was shocked watching the man she thought she knew quite well. She would've never thought that the blond could surprise her in any way. And yet, as it often happens in such situations, it turned out that she was wrong. She saw how Gourry fell into hysterics when the master of black magic was pierced through the enemy. It was obvious to her that the swordsman reacted in such a way to the alleged death of his beloved. But in current situation Gourry was so ... different ... This unusual mixture of deep sadness and aggression made the princess wonder who was the healer of Sairaag to the usually cheerful and carefree swordsman. And what's more, did the blonde understand his raging emotions?

"Amelia!" The adept of white magic felt that someone poked her gently.

" Yes?" She asked confused.

"I've just asked you what have you found out from other priestesses." Said a little annoyed Lina. She never liked to repeat twice the same sentence.

"Overall, they haven't noticed anything suspicious. It has been recently pretty calm here, except for one wounded man from the neighboring village, who was brought here in order to be cured by Miss Sylphiel." Amelia replied.

"What happened to him?" Suddenly asked the chimera.

" Actually, it was not nothing that normal priestess would be incapable of healing, but the man insisted he didn't trust anyone but priestesses of Sairaag." The princess explained, not really understanding what made the mage so interested in the issue.

"That would fit." Said Zelgadis.

"What do you mean?" Asked the adept of white magic.

"They didn't take Sylphiel because of her trying to stop this attack. Sylphiel was their real target from the very beginning. They planned it very carefully on the basis of her abilities, which had been already thoroughly investigated under the cover of some patient. The question is, why do they want Sylphiel?" Said grimly the mistress of black magic.

The silence fell on them and for a moment nobody made the slightest noise.

"But if they need her for something, it means they won't do her any harm, will they?" Noticed Amelia who really wanted to believe in her own words.

"At least for a while." Said Zelgadis skeptically. Under the murderous look of Lina, chimera quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, there is something I would like to check. Wait for me till sunset, ok?"

"All right. Amelia, you stay here. You need to treat the wounded. I will go with Gourry to explore this place, where traces of attackers were lost. Agreed?"

Three nodes were her answer.

"So we'll meet here at sunset."

* * *

><p>Gourry was extremely anxious. He wanted to do anything that would make him feel he was doing something to improve the situation of Sylphiel. He wanted to get rid of those awful images that still haunted his mind. He couldn't stop himself from thinking that if nothing had been done, this nightmare would have become a reality. He shook his head. Lina promised they would find her. Zelgadis had some kind of plan. Thanks to them Sylphiel would be found in no time.<p>

"Actually, there's an echo." The voice of the red-haired sorceress stopped his trail of thoughts. Gourry stood leaning against a tree watching the sorceress who was examining the place.

"An echo? Well we're in the forest, of course there is an echo." Replied the blonde surprised that he had to explain such elementary things to the brilliant girl.

" I don't mean echo in the forest, you idiot!" Growled the annoyed sorceress. "I mean a magical echo, which always appears after using a spell. This confirms my theory concerning the modified summoning spell."

"Um ... can you repeat this theory once again?" Asked timidly the blond man.

Lina clutched her head in frustration.

"It doesn't matter." She answered and then after a pause she asked. "Gourry, who is Sylphiel to you?"

"Who is Sylphiel to me?" Repeated slowly the swordsman.

"Forget it. Let's go back, the sunset is approaching." She said quickly and headed toward the Sairaag. Gourry somewhat surprised followed her wordlessly.

* * *

><p>The group met punctually at sunset, sat at the same table, they occupied few hours earlier. First to speak was Zelgadis sitting next to the exhausted princess. Lina and Gourry sitting in front of him listened to his words carefully.<p>

"Just as I thought, not only Sylphiel has been kidnapped. In the past few months, four other women have gone missing. The culprit is moving all the time, but it seems to me that I know his main destination. It should be the old temple near Rayheiss. He should be there in two days. If we left tomorrow at dawn, we should be on time."

"But how do you know it?" Asked Amelia.

"Why don't we go at once?" Gourry asked hopefully.

"Gourry, don't tell me that you have the strength for a whole-day trip." Said doubtfully the chimera. "We have to rest and I assure you if we left tomorrow at dawn, we would reach our destination before the evening."

"All right." After a moment of silence the swordsman gave up, though a few seconds earlier he didn't look so convinced.

" Well, I think I'm going to sleep if we have to get up so early." Said the princess, rising from her chair.

"Amelia, you'd better stay here." Said Lina, who had been so far silent.

"But why?" Asked the surprised adept of white magic.

"To help Sylphiel just the three of us would be enough and here there are still a lot of injured people who need your help." Said the sorceress.

The younger girl sat for a while looking at the red iris, then she lowered her head.

"I think you're right ... I promised Mr Mucfin spell on sore shoulders. But are you sure you will not need me?" Asked with hesitation the dark-haired girl.

"You are needed here, Amelia." The redhead said.

"All right. I'll be here waiting for you. Good night." Amelia smiled and walked toward the shelter.

"I will check the wood supplies." Said Gourry all of sudden and without waiting for any response he got up and walked away.

"Ok. So I'm going as well. After all we have to get up early." Zelgadis said as soon as the blond man disappeared into the woods.

"Later." Lina said firmly, giving him a stern look. "First, tell me the truth."

For a moment the chimera looked silently into her eyes.

"Are you sure you want to hear everything?"

"Don't treat me like Amelia. Just ignoring my question won't be enough to make me leave you alone."

Zelgadis sighed heavily.

"You know I'm always up to date with information about local temples." Lina just nodded her head in response. "Some time ago I heard about a missing woman found in a nearby temple. Then I paid no attention to this. A month ago I heard the same rumor about another woman. When I was gone, I checked the news from surrounding villages. In total, five women got lost. The circumstances were different each time, but these disappearances had one feature in common. It was a perfection of the perpetrator." He pulled out a map with highlighted areas from his cape. "Women disappeared from those villages." Lina quickly paid attention to the fact that the points were arranged in a pentagon shape. "And they were found in those places." Zelgadis took a pencil and marked the next four points, which formed the four vertices of the pentagram, created on the basis of a pentagon. The fifth vertice was located close to Sairaag, which wasn't so far away from Rayheiss.

Red eyes widened in shock.

"The five gates and the five keys." She whispered. "In two days will be a full moon ... But that's just an old tale! What does this madman want to achieve?!"

"I don't know, and I hope we won't find it out."

For a moment there was a silence.

"Zel ... In what condition were those woman?" She asked fearing the answer. She could sense that there was a reason why Zelgadis hadn't answered Amelia's question so eagerly using the fact that Gourry asked other question at the very same time, and was so reluctant to answer her own questions.

Zelgadis sighed heavily once again and looking at the setting sun he responded.

"This son of bitch drugged them, raped them and left their bodies in a pool of their own blood."


End file.
